By LYNN ZINSER

Published: August 5, 2007

Alex Rodriguez said he was starting to become embarrassed by the anticipation: the fans standing as he strode to every at-bat, the flashbulbs piercing the sky during night games, the good wishes being showered on him as he tried game after game to hit his 500th home run.

Yesterday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, the pattern did not change. The theme song from ''The Natural'' flooded through the speakers as Rodriguez walked to the plate in the first inning of the Yankees' game against the Kansas City Royals. Fans who flocked here on a broiling summer afternoon stood and cheered.

This time, Rodriguez fulfilled the expectations, unfurling a big swing at the first pitch he saw and driving the ball deep to left field. He stood at home plate and watched it stay to the right of the foul pole, then threw his arms in the air as ''The Natural'' music started again and the fans' roar serenaded him around the bases.

''It was pretty awesome,'' Rodriguez said after the game. ''I felt a little embarrassed that every time I came up, 56,000 people stand up. But it was awesome. You kind of get a high school reception when you hit a home run and all the guys are out of the dugout. Pretty cool.''

Rodriguez's home run gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead in a game they would win, 16-8. He hit it against Royals starter Kyle Davies, becoming the youngest player to hit 500 homers, at the age of 32 years 8 days. Rodriguez is the 22nd player to hit 500, he is the fifth active player to do so, and he joins Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle as the third player to hit it as a Yankee.

Rodriguez did it in dramatic fashion.

''It was great,'' Yankees Manager Joe Torre said. ''He stood there and watched it. We all did. You just felt it was coming.''

George Steinbrenner, the Yankees principal owner, congratulated Rodriguez in a telephone call after game. His spokesman, Howard Rubenstein, said Steinbrenner told Rodriguez, ''I'm very proud and happy that you did it at Yankee Stadium in front of our hometown fans.''

Rodriguez and the Yankees had been waiting since July 25 for him to move from 499 to 500, a stretch of 29 at-bats during which Rodriguez said he went through a range of emotions. He was alternately tight and flustered and determined. The past few days, Rodriguez said, he started to concentrate on his mechanics and forget about it.

That is not easy to do when a stadium full of fans stands and howls every time you leave the dugout.

''Well, I've conceded the fact that you can't will yourself to hit a home run,'' he said. ''I tried hard for about four or five days.''

He did acknowledge that he wanted badly to do it at home, in front of the fans who have become a source of support only one season after tormenting him with boos. The transformation has been astounding and complete.

''You wish you can go out there and shake every fan's hand and thank them,'' he said. ''But the only way to thank them is to hit the home run at home and do it in a winning situation.''

The Yankees did win, and win big. They pounded 21 hits, and six players had three hits or more, including Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Robinson Can?ho had four.

The Yankees improved their recor to 18-7 since the All-Star Game break, using victories over some of the league's weakest teams to get closer to the first-place Boston Red Sox. They were six and a half games behind them in the American League East before the Red Sox played at Seattle late Saturday.

But all of the other dramas paled in comparison to Rodriguez's blast. The fans had clearly come to witness his milestone. They started chanting his nickname during warm-ups.

With Jeter and Bobby Abreu on base in front of him, Rodriguez did not hesitate on the first pitch. After hitting the ball, he circled the bases in triumph, hugged Jeter and Abreu at the plate, then turned to blow a kiss to the crowd. He thought he was aiming it at his wife, Cynthia, and his daughter, but he realized they were not yet in their seats.

Cynthia Rodriguez said sheepishly after the game that she arrived late. ''I was running into the stadium when he hit it,'' she said. ''I saw him running the bases. I did see him cross home plate.''

She had not brought their 2-year-old daughter Natasha because of the heat.

Rodriguez received plenty of love from his adoptive Yankees family. This season, as he has piled up his major league-leading 36 homers and 108 runs batted in, he has reveled in their support.

The season has not passed without controversy, from the drama of Rodriguez not saying whether he will opt out of his contract after this season, to pictures of him and a mystery woman being published in New York newspapers, to his wife being photographed at Yankee Stadium wearing a T-shirt with a vulgar phrase on it.

This year, the difference has been that he has not let it affect his play or, seemingly, his emotions.

''New York's a special place,'' Rodriguez said. ''I've had my trials and tribulations here in New York. I've learned from them. I've had some great times and I've had some good times and I've had some tough times. Today kind of brings it full circle. Maybe there's a happy ending for me somewhere.''

He left that answer open-ended about his future. For now, a celebration of the present was enough.

Photos: Alex Rodriguez homered on the first pitch he saw yesterday, but his celebration was delayed while he made sure the ball was fair. (Photograph by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)(pg. SP1); Alex Rodriguez, along with the umpire Jerry Meals and Royals catcher Jason LaRue, watching the flight of his 500th home run in the first inning.(Photograph by Jason Szenes for The New York Times); A crowd of 54,056 applauded Rodriguez, but the Royals' bench did not. (Photograph by Bill Kostroun/Associated Press)(pg. SP3)
Chart: ''Inside Rodriguez's 500'' Alex Rodriguez became the 22nd player in major league history to reach 500 home runs yesterday when he homered off Kansas City's Kyle Davies. At 32 years 8 days, he is the youngest to reach the milestone, making him the player most likely to be the next after Barry Bonds to challenge baseball's career home run mark. (Sources:baseballlibrary.com;baseball-reference.com;yankees.com) Chart shows line graph and statistics of Rodriguez's 500 home-runs.